Combination ironing table and stepladder



, Sept. 20, 1949. CAPRIQTT] 2,482,652

COMBlfNATION IRONING TABLE AND STEPLADDER Filed Nov. 9, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

PAS6ZOA if CAPR/OZT/ Sept. 20, 1949. P. CAPRIOTTI COMBINATION IRONING TABLE AND STEPLADDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1946 Z? 1 6 m m v 00 m% N" T/ m M II Tl-ll..! mfl m v 8-- c. A. 4 1 M E U a J 1 a M I. .n I P Sept. 20, 1949. I CAPRIOTT] 2,482,652

COMBINATION IRONING TABLE AND STEPLADDER Filed Nov. 9, 1946 4 SheetsSheet s Patented Sept. 20 1949 2,482,652]: COMBINATION IRONING TABLE AND H STEPLADDER Pasquale'Capriotti, Sn'iithfield, Pa. v

9, 1946,.SerialNo., 1.08,979 7 Application November 3 Claims. 1.

. invention gelatesto new and useful im- (01. zeta- 4),

Platform lowered to folded or inoperative posi- Qn; v. r A

mo emen .i l-combinat ond vi e and m Pa tieularlyto :a combined ironing table and stepladder; thepri nary; object of the invention being to proviole a simple, strong and efiicient structure h s ma zbe sad lxe l d quickly Set up as an ironingor other table, and with little effort qui ly converted into a stepladder. I

@further object of the invention resides in the mri icnn meer szwhi w e the device is Set up asa stepladderrnay be used as a support for various articles -but when thedevice is set up as an -ironing boarder table may in reverse also be usedasa support for clothes prior or subsequent to theirbn ne her f- S,ti;ll another object of the invention resides in the 'special-means for-supporting the platform or;-. she1f and the means for actuation thereof to position samein operative and inoperative positions.-- 1 e r gfurther object of the invention resides in the provision-ofa special. means for utilization of a back support for the stepladder which affords means for the support of the ironing board or otherytable. x

A; further object resides in the provision of a special-means cooperating with the ladder supportto act as a direct support for the ironing board when the ladder is .set up in operative position.

, Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of an ironing board which may be connected or disconnected with the device when in folded position.

I A still further object resides in the provision of means for locking the rear support for the ladder in position when the device is set up for use as a ladder. 7

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a combination device of the class described which is simple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and one which will be very efficient and useful in operation.

With these and numerous other objects in view, my invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, form ng a part of this application:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device, set up as an ironing table;

Figurez is afragmentary side elevation of the de ice; illu trat d in Figure 1 with the shelf or Figure? is a vertical central longitudinal section through the device, as seen on the line 3-3 of Figure .4; v

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse, section through the device; as seen on the lined-4 of Figure 3; looking/inthedirection of the arrows;

Figure, 5 is, a horizontalv section through the deviceas seen on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontalsection, as seen on the line 66'of Figure 3; f j

Figure '7 is a fragmentarytransverse vertical section, taken 'o'n'the line "l-;'l of Figure 4;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, as seen onithelin'e' 8+8 of Figure 4, showing particularly. the mannerin whichthe ironing board or table. is hookedin positio ate the uprights and showingftherelationship of the lowerend of a slot in. the: uprightsto therear support of the latter} v I v e Figure9 isna; detailed fragmentary perspective view of the ironingltable'removed and reversed to show particularly the hooks thereon.

Figure 10' isja perspective view of the shelf or platform.. .rem'dved,fl showingf particularly the handle formed thereon and the structure of the inner end supporting portions thereof;

Figure 11 is a'bottom perspective of a table element whichrnaybe substituted for the ironing table; 1. giFig'ure 12' isa sidelelevation of the device set up as stepladder, withthe, ironing board removed, and .theshelf or platform positioned at the top of the ladder'fo'r use as a tool or article support;

Figurel3fls' a front, elevation of. the device. as illustrated' 'in Figure 12; v

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section, .as se'en. on the line MTM Of Figure 13, looking in' the direction of the arrows;

Figure 15 isla horizontalsection, as seen on the in 5-laofiF i eil 1 I f Figure 16 is a similar View, as seen on the'line lB-llfi of Figure 4;

Figure 17 a front elevation of the device en'- tirely folded and out of use with the ironing board supported thereon; s

Figure 18 is aside elevationof the device folded, as showninFlgure'17;., I Figure. 9 is a rear elevation thereof; and

Figure 20 is ahorizontalsection therethrough, as seen on the line 20-20 of Figure 19. i i I I ium districts and n ar t and small homeswhere conservation ofspace is essential, it is desirable to utilize kitchen and other devices and folding thereof, to be utilized as a stepladder. 2

I am aware of the fact that combination ironing.

boards and stepladders have been known, but I have provided a simple device whichi is different i in construction and operation from those heretofore known, capable of being more compactly folded and of greater usefulness, by reason of its simple manipulation than others now-known. Y

In describing the invention, I refer to the draw, ings in which similar reference characters des1g-' ate, corresponding parts throughout the several views and in'which the numeral 1 designates a pair of uprights which are held in spaced relation; by means of the spaced apart cross bars 2, which together form a ladder; The cross bars 2' arewsupported in, the front, face of the uprights i and, secured in position in any desiredmanner and the lower ends of the uprights l are bent orlflared outwardly to a slight extent, as shown at 3. The. innermopposed faces of the uprights I are each provided with a vertical slot 4 extendin :3,

from a point near the top end of the upright to a point a little less than midway'of said upright, and operating. vertically in the slots 4 are the ends-ofa transversefrod5. 'This rod is carried on theu'pper end of a rear support which comprises a pair of arms 6 'held'in spaced relation by a. ,pair of transverse bars 1. The rear; support with the pintleor bar 5'there0n is adapted tobemoved with respect to thefuprights and said rear support is held inconnection with said uprights byl rneans of the rods 8. which are hinged to saiduprightsat points'clesi'gnated by the numeral 9 at'one end and pivotally connected as shown at E0, to angle irons H securedto a lower cross bar- 2 connectingtheuprightsas clearly'shown in Figures, 1 and. 3 of'the drawings. Thus, with permanentconnection of the rear support to the ladder or uprights, it is possible by grasping the transverse rod, 5 tojlower the support'to retain the uprights in substantiallyvertical' position or; to,

raise therear support to dispose the, same b1etween theuprights intcollapsed'position therebetween. i In order to substantially lock, the rear support in, its lowermost" operative and effective; position, the lower endsjof the slots 4- in which the ends of the rod 5 operate are slightly curved-rearwardly asshown at [2. When the uprights l are supported in substantiallyvertical position by the disposition of the rear support to its lowermost and extended position, as shown in Figursl and 3, the device-is, in position for use in supporting aftable top. In carrying out my invention, Iprovide-an ironing boardpr table I3which may be of-any desired width and/or length, but which is. of; a width substantially equivalent to the outside measure,- ments-of the ladder.-"There. is secured, to-'the under face of the inner end of this boarda blockv M which is of a width substantially equivalenfito or slightly less than the inside measurement between,the bars 6 constituting the rear} support,- so" as to fit therebetwee'n and secured in any desired "manner to" said block" adjacent the endsthereof are the hooks I 5*whic'h are adapted't'o engage the bar 5 when the board or table is placed in position on the rear support.

In order to support the board or table IS in a horizontal position, I have provided a table support comprising a pair of arms IS, the lower ends of which are hingedly connected, as shown at I1, to the lower cross bar of the rear support and the upper ends of said arms are secured together by means of worms bar t8. The lower or under face of the table l3 has secured thereto at a predetermined point thereon a stop block I9, the front and rear edges of which are beveled, as shown ,at220.5" Thus, when it is desired to utilize thetable l3, it is hooked in position on the rod andmovedto a substantially horizontal position, whereupohthe arms l6 are moved on their hinges upwardly so Zthatthe cross bar I8 thereof rides over the, front beveled edge 20 of the block l9 torestagainst the rearedge of the latter. The supported position of the table as it is described is bestillustrated Figuresl'and'ii of the drawirigsg When-it isdesired to remove answer-the table, itis only necessary to-sli ghtly'lift theouter freefend tliereof and allow the-cross bar l 8of the supportingar'r'ns fl to be moved over the beveled edge of the; blockl9, whereupon the t'able--sup porting "element" will be returnedto its' collapsed position between the bars B of thefrear support and 'the table allowed to drop to its -position against the said rears'upport or--removed entirely.'

Itjwillbe; Seen, hoWeverj'that-wheh-the table is dropped to its lowered position on' the reansupport, it need not beremo'ved but may lee-carriedto a collapsed position with the rear-support on the uprights by the movem'entbf s'ai'd-rear 'sup port" upwardly through the -'o'p'eration of the bar 5- injtneslots 4'. In order' to"hold-the table in lobked position oirthe rearsupport inthe move'- merit of thelatter witlr'respect to' s'aid--uprights-, I provide a pivoted latch 2l on the block H! which may be swun'gtoa position so-th at'th end thereof is in binding contact with the cross bar 5 This will prevent accidental displacement of the hooks l5" from-the "cross b'ar Obviously, this latch member Z l may be effectively applied to lock the table inits ope ative position,- that-is in the positionshownfinFi'gures l and-3, if desired; although this is notnecessary in orderto operate-the table,

in View of its otherwise proper supports I have described this table or board element H as an "ironing board or table, since it is primarily used for itl fatpurpose? It-flies been found desirable," however',--'-to utilize this deviceas a table-oi support for various other activiti'e s','such as the making or reea and otherkitchen activities. -'As the ironingiablewouldnot serve so well -for-such a pur pdse," I a have 'pi'ovided-a substitute table; which, as shewn in Figure ll, is designatedflbythe'numeralf 222-: This table is preferably of greater-width and possibly less length than the table-1a butis provided' w-ith -the' block- :4 and the hooks; vl Elsiniilar' to the block andhooks pre viously'de ribed-a'ncl usedi nc onnection with the table I3. is'al'so provided with a stop-bloek 'i 9 similar-to the stop blockf'iSJ-previouslydescribed, en'ablingthe table-to beproperly supported-in horizontal position? As it-'is'- desirable to have some platform orsup-- port for clothes as same are ironed and as i't is customary irfc'ertain types" of s'tcpladdeis to have supports thereon for toolsandf' the like, I have provided' 'a shelf or platform {as}; This shelf or platform is supported on a pair'- of'armsewhich extend 3b'eyondthe "front and f-reafedges" of said shelf? The front extending edges-of said arms Mare connected by an element which maybe referred to as a handle, being slightly spaced from the front edge of said shelf. -The extending other table, I provide a pair of laterallyextendin'g' pins 29 in the uprights l in a-plane just above the lower ends of the slots'28. Thus, when-itis desired to position the shelf for use, it is moved upwardly with the rod 26 operating in the slots 28 then swung or tilted so that the inner ends of the arms 24 are in a plane forward of the pins 29 and then the rod 26 allowed to return to its lowermost position in the slots 28. and the shelf dropped to a horizontal position, whereupon the beveled upper edges of the rear ends of the'arms 24. will contact with the pins 29 and retain the shelf in the horizontal position, as shown in Figuresland 3 of the drawings.

When it is desired to lower the shelf to a collapsed position, a reverse movement is taken, that is, the outer end of the shelf is tilted upwardly, then the shelf drawn upwardly, moving the rod 26 in the slots 28 to a position so that the ends of the arms 24 are above the horizontal plane of the pins 29, whereupon the outer end of the shelf When it is desired to use this device solely as. a stepladder, the table 13, or the table 22, if

used, is disconnectedby lowering the table support [6 into the rear support of the ladder and unhooking the table from the rod Then the rod 5 connecting the bars 9 of the ladder support is grasped and then with a forward motion to disconnect said rod from the curved end of the slot 4, the rod is drawn upwardly in the slots 4 to a point near the top of the uprights i where said rod is guided into forwardly and upwardly directed diagonal slots 39 communicating'with said slots 4. By reason of the hinging connection of the-bars E of the rear support with the uprights I, this movement of the rod 5 upwardly in the slots 4 and into the diagonal slots 39 will tilt the uprights or ladder rearwardly, as shown in Figures l2 and 14. Y

When the device is set up for use as a stepladder, the shelf or platform may be found useful and may be brought into effective position. To accomplish this, the platform 23, from its collapsed position, as shown in Figure 2, for instance, may-be moved upwardly in the slots 28 and by grasping the handle 25 theshelf may be given a turn over the upper ends of the uprights 1 until reversed and the shelf position on the side of said uprights from which the rear support projects. A supporting cross bar 3| secured to the rear edges of the uprights i has its ends 32 projected beyond the outer faces of said uprights and said ends aforesaid, form a rest for the side bars 24 of said platform. These supporting ends of the cross bar 3| together with contact of the rod 26 with the upper ends of the slots 28 will support In order to support the,

said platform .in substantially la horizontal position on the ladder, as shown in Figures 12 and 14 of the drawings. It will be seen, however, that the platform when positioned in this manner for use in connection with the ladder is in reversed position and extended in theopposite direction 'rom that in which same is positioned when usedasa platform or shelf for the ironing table, the latter position being shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

In order to lock the rear support in position when the device is setup as a ladder, I provide an additional cross bar 33 supported between the uprights i at the lower end of the slots 28 and suspended from said cross bar is a hook member 34 which, under spring tension may be engaged under the rod 5 when the ladder is positioned at I the ladder will be locked in position and securely brace the device in its ladder-operating position.

When the device is to be taken out of use entirely, the shelf or platform is first disposed over the front of the uprights to a position, as shown in Figures 2 and 19. Then, if the device is set up as a ladder, the hook member 34 is disengaged from the rod 5 and the rear support moved to. a position so that the ends of the rod 5 are directed from the diagonal slots 39 into the vertical slots 4 and the support then raised until the ends of said rod 5 are moved to the upper ends of the slots 4. In this position, the side bars 6 of the rear support will be positioned substantially vertically between the uprights I and in frictional contact with the inner opposed faces of the ladder. The table or ironing board support will also be in a vertical position between the side bars 6 of the rear support and held frictionally there between. This .folded position of the elements described is best illustrated in Figures 19 and 20 of the drawings. If it is desired to also support the ironing table I 3 in this collapsed or folded position of the device, the hooks I5 of said table are engaged with the rod 5 just prior to the movethe device is a compact one which may be stored vice is set up as a stepladder and when moved" to a reverse position useful in cooperation with the device set up as an ironing table. As aforesaid, when the shelf is disposed to the position shown in Figures 12 and 14, it constitutesa tray or platform for tools or other articles that may be used when the operator is utilizing the device as a stepladder. The side arms or bars 24 of the shelf or platform in this position prevent articles from rolling off or casually dropping from the platform. When the platform is positioned for use in connection with the device when set up as an ironing table or the like, it will be seen that it may serve as a platform for supporting clothes that may have been properly ironed. Obviously,

a shejlf, v.orrplatzform, constructed in the manner;

showneandgdescribed and operableas heretofore;

setiorth, is capableoof variousuuses according.to;,

forth,.it isapparent that various changesin form,

proportion. and in the minor.v details ofconstruc. ti'onrnay be. resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1.111 a combination device of the class described, -a pairof "uprights,- transverse" bars connecting said luprights and retaining same. in spacedrelation; certain of said bars being adapt edito formlladder-rungs,- the inner opposedfaces f-z. said. uprights having -longitudinal grooves therein; a supprt..for said uprights, a brace-hev ing :one'iendpivotally connected with the intermediate-portion of said support and its other end Lpivotally.connected'with one of the lower bars of said'uprights, a-transverse rod carried at the upper and inner end' of said support having itsrends slidablyaand hingedly operating in the grooves of said uprights, the lowermost ends ofsaid-grooves being curved toform lockin ends fon. said transverse rod, there being diagonally:-

extending grooves extendin at an upward incline ,from,. upper portions .of the. longitudinallyextending grooves forreceiving ends ofthetrans verserodt'ohold the support in position toretain theiuprights .in. ladder-forming position, a table having. hooks at its inner. end detaohably engage ablewith the transverse rod, and a prop pivoted atzone. end-.to. the lower-portion of v the supporttfor swinging movement to a raisedposition iniwhich I its upper. endbears against the vunderface-of the 1 table andsupports the table in a horizontal position;

2. In az combination ,device ,of= the: class de+.

scribed,,a pair of uprights, transverse bars con-- necting. said: uprights and retaining: the:same in spacedj 'relation certain of, said. bars; forming: laddererungs, the innereopposed side faces of. saidi. uprights. being provided with longitudinal grooves and the 1ower,ends.;0f,said grooves beingcurvedt:

said innerppposed sidefacesof the uprightsz-being each alsoprovidedflwithga diagonal. groove communicating with the aforementioned groove and. located at a point adjacent the upper.- end:

of, said upright, a'supportfor the uprights; means hingedly connecting an intermediate portionofthe ;support with: a lowercross bar, of;.the uprights; a-transverser'rodcarriedat the upper and inner endof said support having, its outer ends slidagbly and pivotally engaged intthen grooves ofzsaid; uprights, the .ourved lower; ends oflisaid-l grooves iforming a .lock for the rodwhenymovedl to the lowermost position of,the.,gro0ves,.aetablei top adapted :afor detachable connection with said; rod; and; hinged means ,on said support forming. an-uauxiliary support. -for said table top, the diagonal; groovesnin said uprights being.adapted;v to receive. the ends pfsaid: transverse ,r dl-wheni theurodl-is moved; in; the grooves upwardly; itoua, position 1 to support: the,;-uprights.,as a :ladder.

3. In;aelcomhinationv deviceof the class de:-., scribed; tapair. of: uprights,- transverseebars; con,- nesting. isaidJuprights and retaining the samain. spaced -.relation,1 certain of said. barsuformingg ladderrrunga the inner-opposed side faces of said.- uprightsrbeing provided with longitudinal grooves; and ,the ,lowenends: .of ,said grooves being curved,' saidginneropposedirside faces of the. uprights being reach: also-formed with a diagonalgroovehaving its lower end communicating with the, aforementionedzgroove and located. at a'pointr spaced-downwardly'from the upper end of-saidf upright, a, support for the uprights, means hingedly connecting an intermediate portion-of the support with a lower cross bar of the uprights, a transverse rod carried at the upper and inner end ofsaid supporthaving its endsiprojeoting'laterally'from the support and slidably and pivotally, engaged in the longitudinally extendingzgrooves of-zsaiduuprights, the curvedelower ends of said grooves forming'a lock forthe-rod when the rod .isrmoved to the lower ends of the grooves, the endszof the rod-being engageable in" the diagonally, extending grooves when the support isshiftedupwardly into position to support the-uprights asa ladder, a table top'having hooks. at its'inner. :end for detachable connection withsaid rodtan abutmentstrip extending across the under face of said table, and aprop'pivoted at'one end to said support and movable upwardly'to a position disposingitsupper end against theunder face of the table and against the abutment strip to support the table in a horizontal position. 1

PASQUALE CAPRIOT'I'I.

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